Squamish man dies in climbing fall on the Stawamus Chief

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed it is investigating the death of a man in his 30s that occurred on Sunday on the Stawamus Chief in Squamish.

Squamish RCMP said in a news release Sunday night that police were contacted at 11:30 a.m. Sunday by a climber on the Stawamus Chief.

Stawamus Chief. Photo by Jennifer Thuncher/The Squamish Chief

The caller said they had observed a group whose lead climber had fallen from the Angel's Crest portion of the north face of the Stawamus Chief.

Squamish RCMP, Squamish Search and Rescue, and Squamish BC Ambulance members all arrived to find the climber was 200-300 metres up the rock face.

Because of the complex location and position of the climber, the rescue was very technical.

"After a difficult and highly technical extraction the man, a 33-year-old Squamish resident, went into medical distress and died a short time later," said RCMP Sgt. Sascha Banks, in the release. "The climbing community in Squamish is very close and I know it will be a hard loss for everyone. Our thoughts go out to not only the man's friends and family but to the Squamish SAR team who worked tirelessly to help him."

This is the second climber to die on the Stawamus Chief in the last six weeks, Banks noted, and the third Squamish SAR call out for climbers in distress over the last three days.

Squamish RCMP and other local agencies will be working hard to get the "safe adventuring" messaging out to the affected community, Banks said.

The Squamish RCMP has handed over the investigation to the BC Coroner's Service but will be assisting the agency in the coming days. If anyone has any information about this incident, contact the Squamish RCMP at 604-892-6100.

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